Grabbing a coffee before class has gotten a little easier this school year at Au Bon Pain café on 38th and Locust streets.
As their contract for the Huntsman Hall retail space comes up for review within the year, ABP has upgraded its menu and layout.
“Au Bon Pain would very much like to stay there,” Chief Executive Officer of ABP Sue Morelli said. “Obviously we’ve communicated that to the University and to Wharton specifically.”
The retailer has applied to renew its contract — which expires in August 2012 — though a final decision has not yet been made.
Focus groups with student and faculty provided feedback, which has helped Penn’s Business Services Division narrow their choices. While the groups did not come to a consensus, they emphasized the importance of a variety of foods, quick service, healthy options and good coffee.
“We’re hoping to have a decision by after [Jan. 1],” Director of Business Services, Hospitality Services, Pam Lampitt said. She added that the vendor must be able to “meet the diverse palates of the community.”
The changes that ABP made this summer are designed to enhance customer satisfaction and improve guest flow during peak hours, Morelli said.
Changes included adding another coffee station, relocating the baked goods and soup sections to more convenient locations and switching from round, veneer wood to square, solid wood tables.
ABP is also offering a new line of hot, baked sandwiches, which includes new styles like Turkey Cubano and Moroccan Lemon Chicken.
Additionally, the café has instituted a new call-ahead system. Students can place their order and pay over the phone, and then pick up their food at a cash register within 10 to 15 minutes. The ABP branch at the Wharton school is the first outlet to offer this option on campus.
College sophomore Lara Berns believes the system could be successful. “It will probably relieve a lot of the lines and waiting,” she said.
ABP has also added two more registers and created a half-sandwich and soup meal option. The café now sells Coca Cola products, coconut water and smartwater. It also provided a two-day class for employees on customer service.
The café is also aiming to streamline its catering order system for clients in Huntsman Hall, David Miller, area director for ABP in Philadelphia said.
In the past, students and faculty who wish to cater for an event in Huntsman Hall would have to call a number in Boston, which would then be faxed to the catering center at 20th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, Miller said.
“One of the things we understand having been there so long is that the students, the administration and the community are very time sensitive,” Morelli said.
Berns, however, felt that the new set-up did not affect her experience at the café, although she observed that customers’ flow around the cafe has improved.
College senior Lauren Yarger, on the other hand, praised the changes. “I’ve actually been able to get a seat here,” she said.
After receiving feedback from students and faculty in June, ABP worked to create the new design and implemented it while continuing to operate over the summer. New fixtures were added by the end of August, with most of the changes being made at night.
“We had great support from Wharton staff,” Miller said.
Though ABP is proud of the changes that have been implemented thus far, additional improvements could be made in the future. Morelli mentioned adding new sandwiches, baked goods and a create-your-own salad bar.
“I [practically] live here, so it would be nice if when I came back to visit I could go to Au Bon Pain,” Yarger said.
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